Source: Unsplash/ Priscilla Du Preez
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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will no longer send an SMS message to taxpayers to inform them their tax return has been processed, as the rising tide of fraudulent messages makes it difficult to discern real communications from costly scams.
On Wednesday, the ATO said it will cut the number of direct SMS communications to taxpayers this tax time.
Previously, the ATO issued two SMS messages after users lodged a tax return: one to alert taxpayers their return had been processed, and another to inform them a refund had been paid.
The ATO will drop the first SMS message this time around, only using the format to inform taxpayers when their 2023-2024 refund is completed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senior Business Journalist
David Adams is a senior business journalist at SmartCompany. He is interested in the challenges and opportunities facing Australian businesses, along with the influences of technology, culture, and a changing climate. Before SmartCompany, David served as a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can find him on Twitter at @DavidAdams_AU.
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